A Darker Shade of Red
by Wanderer Of Silence
Summary: Korrasami AU. One-shot. A place where war destroyed a home. People suffer from poverty while the power-hungry empire expands its colony. Two women, an assassin and a painter, crossed paths. Their love is a blank canvas, waiting to be filled. But, after all, this was no happy story. Entry for Pro-Bending Competition Round 3!


The Autumn breeze, the charred smell of fallen leaves, and the fiery sight of the sun were everything that this day had to offer. Just like every other day, she would sit beside their porch and daydream about the things she wanted in life. Holding her paintbrush, she drew the scenery in front of her eyes. Though this simple and poor life wasn't what she wanted, it was all that she could have.

"Korra! Breakfast is ready!"

A voice interrupted her early morning session. She groaned and left her art materials on the floor. Her feet dragged across the room and down the stairs.

The woman in front of her was cooking. Korra wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Oof! Good morning to you too, dear." Senna smiled

"What's cooking?" she sadly spoke. "W-wait! Is it what I think it is?! Is that…meat?!"

Senna chuckled "Your favorite."

It had been a long time since their family had eaten meat or any other nutritious food. Times were hard after the Great War ended three years ago. Their village was the unfortunate battleground of the surrounding high territories. Many people died, including the village's chief, Tonraq, Korra's father.

After breakfast ended, Korra headed out to her usual hangout. She brought her easel and a chair with her. She sat atop the hill overlooking her ravaged home, brush in hand. Emotions seeped through every corner of every broken part of the village. Korra wasn't one to paint gloomy sceneries like this, but she desired to recreate the whole village through her art. It was her way of coping with the horrors that had occurred.

"Argh! I can't get it right!" she paused "Was there a flower shop beside this?"

She kept trying to recreate the scenery every day. Most of the time, close friends of hers would hang around and help her out with the scene. However, this day was different. Today, everyone was joining the protest against the council of the Republic.

The Colony, The Union, and The Republic were the three most powerful territories that waged war with each other. After the Great War ended, only The Republic stood amongst them all. People bowed down to their high council, but not all were in favor of their power.

It was today when the council of elders would announce the colonization of their village. The protest had started two days ago and was still ongoing. Korra didn't care at all about this, she only wanted the village to be brought back to life.

The sun has gone down and dark filled the area. Korra realized that it was time to pack her things up and buy supper for the night. She hid her art materials in a large hole atop of a tree. Inside, there was also a katana she'd hidden there after her father's passing. She grabbed on to it and held it in her hands.

"Hey, dad. I'm sorry, it's late. Mom's gonna scold me again when I get back. It's been so long since I've held on to this. I'll take care, I promise." She hopped off the tree and hung her father's katana on her back.

It was a cold night and usually, muggers and bandits roamed the village for food. Her father taught her how to stand up for herself if she ever comes home late.

Luckily, her favorite shop was still open. She grabbed two bowls of rice and paid the old man.

"That'll be four yuans." Old man Tenzin said.

"Shit! How much is rice nowadays?" Korra shouted in surprise.

Tenzin sighed, "It's a hard time for us too, ya know? I got four mouths to feed and one more in a couple of months!"

"What? You're having another one! Jeez, Tenzin. You should calm down once in a while." Korra hysterically laughed.

"Oh! I got a name! Buttercakes!" she laughed again

* * *

As Korra neared her home, the light from the window created a silhouette of a woman. She sighed and crept towards the door.

"Just a little more…She wouldn't hear a thing…almost the-" a branch cracked beneath her feet.

The door burst open and an angry mother welcomed her.

"Good evening, dear! Do you know what time it is?" Senna spoke with a gritty voice, clearly filled with anger.

"Uhh…Mom! I'm sorry! I was j-just finishing my p-piece!" Korra trembled.

"Get inside! I couldn't cook dinner because we had no rice!" Senna yelled.

"I got the rice! Two bowls! From Tenzin's!" Korra held the rice bowls out.

Senna sighed. "Alright, you're off the hook, missy. Come on, let's eat."

* * *

"Pl-please! D-don't! We surrender!" the man held his hands in the air.

"I wasn't ordered to make a truce with you." She drew the bowstring and aimed for his heart

"Y-you! You're the-" the arrow pierced the man's chest and blood slowly dripped from his mouth

She sighed and slowly walked towards her victim to recover the arrow.

"Yeah, I'm the Raven." She turned around and retreated.

* * *

The halls were filled with statues and relics from the Great War. Servants were continuously polishing the gold and silver decors. She forced her way through the people around her. In the middle was a man kneeling down in front of a short table. Two heavily armored samurais stood beside him.

"Ahh, there you are, Asami. This one took you a while, huh?" the emperor asked.

Asami bowed "Yes, Your Majesty. The job is finished. Do you have anything else that requires my assistance?"

The emperor stood, his robes flashing with crimson lining. He looked charming, though his pointy eyebrows brought an edge of intimidation to his visage.

"Don't be too formal, here." He smirked. "You may call me, Mako. Remember?"

Asami rolled her eyes, stealthily so he wouldn't see, and stood up. "Do you have any work for me?"

"Hmm…since you have clearly killed off…almost everyone on the list..."

"What do you mean, 'almost'?" Asami looked at the scroll. She aimed for perfection. There was no way one of the targets would escape her arrows.

"We're missing one chief and he hasn't been seen for the last few days" Mako paused "I'll have my spies find your next target. He's the chief of the middle village, Midoru."

Asami was about to leave when Mako held her hand tight.

"Well, for now. Since you have nothing much to do, why don't you sit around and stay for a while," he traced a finger down Asami's spine. "Just you and me," Mako whispered in Asami's ear.

The Raven caught him in a headlock and a small dagger was pointed at the side of his neck. Mako's guards ran over in panic.

"Stop! Don't even try to get near; she'll have my head before you can draw your weapons out." The emperor was in an uncomfortable position and was struggling to keep his balance.

"That's a pretty dagger, huh? Pearl white, just like that beautiful face of yours."

Mako stumbled to the floor as Asami released her grip. "Don't even dare to touch me again. I haven't painted my dagger in crimson for a long time and I won't hesitate to paint it with yours..."

The emperor gulped as he was helped up by his guards. As he looked around for Asami once he regained his composure, but the assassin was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Asami walked the streets in her usual attire, a red kimono and a fan to cover her face. Her hair was knotted atop her head. She slowly roamed the streets of Midoru, as she commonly did when she needed to calm down. People look at her in awe, likely admiring her uncommon beauty. She's always greeted with the warmest welcomes and the most beautiful smiles.

"Good day, Tenzin! How's business?" Asami walked in the rice shop.

Tenzin sighed. "Not good. The prices of rice just rose in the past few days and no one buys anymore." The old man bowed his head.

"What's wrong, Tenzin? It doesn't look like that the shop's the only thing that bothers you. What's going on?" Asami asked.

"Well…it's Pema. She's…uhh…we're having another one." He scratched his head.

Asami jumped enthusiastically. "Really? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"You seem to be quite the excited one, huh? We just found out that it's gonna be a boy."

"Let's see…Rohan…Rohan!" Asami exclaimed.

"Hmm…not bad! Rohan…" Tenzin smiled and nodded. He seemed to like the name quite a bit "That's actually better than Buttercakes."

Asami laughed "Who would name a kid, 'Buttercakes'?"

"Korra!" Tenzin scratched his chin "Ya know, you might quite get along with that girl..."

Asami wondered "Who's that?"

* * *

It was afternoon and Korra was wandering around town. Her boredom took over when she ran out of paint this morning, and now she was looking for places to buy art materials. She saved up for two months in order to replace her old brushes. As she was walking across the street, she saw a woman in red buying vegetables from one of the vendors. She had black hair and skin as pale as the clouds. Korra had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. As the woman turned around, she tripped on a rock.

Korra ran towards her to catch her before she fell.

The woman looked up at the tan girl holding her. Her eyes locked with Korra's.

Korra blushed, feeling the awkwardness between them and quickly helped her stand up.

"Uhh…are you alright, Miss?" Korra asked.

Asami chuckled "I'm fine! Thank you. My name's Asami and you are?"

"K-Korra." She shook Asami's hand.

"Are you from around here? I'm quite lost and I forgot how to get to the exit." Asami placed her hand on her head.

"Y-Yeah! I'll take you there." Korra smiled.

The two of them walked around town and Korra thought of changing the directions so she could spend more time with her. They spent the whole afternoon laughing and telling stories to each other.

"Well, that's the exit right there." Korra smiled sadly.

Asami saw her reaction and wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Don't worry, I'll be back! I just have to go home."

The other girl giggled. "Alright, alright," she placed an arm around Asami. "I'll be waiting"

Before Asami could go, they gazed at each other's eyes again. Korra was slowly closing the space between them when Asami placed her lips near Korra's ears.

"I knew you led me to the long way towards here." Her breath warmed Korra's cheeks and made her gasp.

Asami turned around and winked at her. "Thank you! Take care, Korra. I'll see you soon."

The young woman was completely struck with warmth. She watched as the other girl strolled elegantly towards the exit. Korra walked back home with thoughts of Asami running through her mind.

* * *

"Your Majesty, we have info about the missing chief." The two spies kneeled before Mako.

"Ah, yes. What information did you retrieve?" Mako placed his hands together.

The two masked men stood up. "The chief died in the Great War."

Mako clapped his hands "Very well. Inform the council of this news."

"There is one more issue, Your Majesty, he… he has…a child…the next in line to be chief," one spy spoke up and scratched his nape.

"What?! How old is he? Is he fit enough to lead a rebellion?"

"Actually, he is a she. A young woman from the village. From what we saw, she's not interested in political matters, though she excels in art."

"Fine! Keep your eyes on her. Inform me regularly of her actions. Be gone!" Mako walked out of the room and the two ninjas disappeared in a flash.

* * *

The morning sun woke up Korra. She could hear the calming chirps of birds outside her window. She quickly jumped off her bed and ran down the stairs, grabbing a piece of bread from the kitchen pantry.

"I'll be back later, mom!" she mumbled with a piece of bread in her mouth

Senna sighed "Are you off to see that girl again?"

"Y-yeah, I'm gonna surprise her with something" Korra held on to the easel underneath her arm

"Alright, don't come home too late!" her mother smiled.

The young woman waved goodbye and ran off, struggling to hold her art materials in her hands. She'd been meeting with Asami for the last few weeks.

"Damn it! It's a little bit off on this side!" the girl was painting on the canvas "I just gotta…mhmm…yeah, yeah! That looks great!"

"Hey there," a sweet whisper came from behind the tree.

Korra jumped and fell from her seat. "Gah! Wh-what are you doing here? I th-thought you were gonna arrive later!"

"I didn't know you were an artist" Asami chuckled "What'cha working on?"

Korra quickly stood up to cover the canvas "It's n-nothing! Just the…uhh…scenery…Yeah! Scenery!"

The pale woman teased the younger girl. The two of them ate lunch together underneath the tree. Easily losing track of time in the euphoria of each other's words and laughs.

* * *

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" The two spies were watching over Korra, when they unexpectedly saw Asami.

"Huh?" the other spy squinted his eyes. "Th-that's the Raven!"

"Keep it down!" he whispered.

They packed up their equipment and went off. "Come on, let's report to the emperor."

* * *

As the sun went down, the silver moon rose and night crept across the village. Cold winds, bright fireflies, and the constant flickering of the stars set an extraordinary sight before the two women. They were lying on their backs on the grass, watching the dark clouds change from one shape to another. As time pass by, they were slowly moving towards one another.

"I've never felt like this" Asami smiled.

Korra was staring at her until Asami turned to face the other woman.

"Korra? You're staring at me again!" She giggled.

The other woman blushed and snapped out of her daydreaming "Wha-what?! I'm s-sorry!"

"Its fine." Asami stared at her eyes. "Wow, your eyes…they're...amazing"

Korra blushed harder and covered her face "Th-thanks, yours are a-amazing too..."

There they were, eyes locked on to each other and cherishing this moment. They got closer, until they could hardly breathe. Asami broke the silence with a whisper. "I…I love you, Korra."

Korra answered by sealing the space between them with an intimate kiss. The air around them started to become warmer with their bodies beside each other.

"Well…you're a…good kisser, huh?" Asami was catching her breath.

Korra was smiling wide and giggling, "I could say the same to you."

* * *

The two spies entered the dining hall and kneeled before their emperor. "Your Majesty, we have info of the whereabouts of the chief's daughter."

Mako was just finishing up a meal when they arrived. He stood from his chair and walked towards them.

"Enlighten me," his voice was dark.

"She has been staying at a particular place every day." The other one said, "a hill that overlooks the village. It's quiet and no one is around. A perfect spot for getting rid of her."

"Though, we have bad news for you. She's been having company with a woman." The ninja gulped.

Mako turned his head towards the two "And…who may that be?"

The spies looked at each other before on spoke up. "Uhh…it's the…the Raven"

In a split second, Mako's eyes widened and anger crawled in his veins. He clenched his jaw and his fists were as hard as stone.

"Have…the Raven…come here tomorrow. Be gone!" he gritted his teeth.

The two ninja bowed and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

"No! Why? Why does she have to choose…her? I am the one that rules all! And yet she still chooses a peasant over an emperor?" Thoughts of Asami with another, especially a woman, filled Mako with jealousy. He'd never been as angry as this before. Even the samurai behind him backed away from the rage he laid on the room.

* * *

Asami arrived in midafternoon. Mako was twiddling with his thumbs and sitting lazily on his throne.

"Your Majesty, you requested my presence?" the Raven bowed.

Mako was filling up with anger but he somehow managed to contain it "Ah, yes." His face suddenly changed into a cheerful smile "My spies have located the chief."

Asami sighed "Very well, where should I head out?"

"The chief will be walking in a tight alley tonight. Akai Bara, to be precise." Mako stood slowly and walked towards her. "The chief will be wearing a black kimono with a katana slung behind her back."

Asami scrunched up her face in thought. Asami pondered what the target would look like. The emperor's description certainly sounded familiar to her.

"A katana? I presume he's an apt fighter, then?" Asami asked

"Go and take a look for yourself." Mako turned around and placed his hands behind his back. "I want you to report to me tomorrow and you'll get the pay, as always." He grit his teeth, still trying to hide his rage from her.

Before the woman could exit the room, the emperor spoke again. "And by the way, this chief's a woman. Be creative in your kill." He paused "Because that's how artists work."

The last sentence made a bell ring in Asami's mind. She remembered that they had planned a dinner underneath the tree.

"Just wait for me, Korra. I'll make this quick." She smiled and tied her hair.

* * *

Korra was whistling down the street. She noticed that the shops were already closing and realized it was already late in the evening. A canvas was under her arm and only a few art materials were in her hand. The katana she brought was lazily hung on her back.

"I gotta hurry," she started pacing her way through the tight alleys. "I haven't even finished it yet and she'll be there in an hour!"

Korra suddenly came to a halt. A dark figure stood in front of her, holding a longbow with a few arrows behind her back. The alley was dark and just a little light from an open window created a silhouette of Korra and the figure. Two consecutive arrows flew at her from the dark figure. Luckily, Korra's reflexes took hold and she was able to block the incoming attacks.

"Wh-who ar-" before Korra could have finished, a dagger sunk into her right shoulder, making the arm on that side useless.

She ran towards the figure and gave her katana a few swings, trying to hit the attacker.

She successfully sliced the left side of the figure's abdomen, making it kneel in pain. Both of them were exhausted from the continuous fight. The figure had two arrows left and Korra was out of energy to swing her blade any more.

The attacker fought with her in hand to hand combat. Korra threw her sword and fought with just her left arm. The figure saw an opening and grabbed an arrow from her back and quickly pierced it through Korra's spine.

Korra went down face first, tears filling her eyes in pain. The figure took a breath before piercing yet another arrow through the side of her stomach.

"That was a tough fight, lady" the figure spoke with an exhausted voice.

"Who...who are y-you?!" Korra was screaming in pain couldn't move her body.

The figure suddenly heard a familiar voice. She removed her mask and turned her victim over. Korra's eyes were placed under the faint light and the figure could clearly see who she was.

"K-Korra?! Wh-why are y-you?! What?! No!" Asami panicked at the sight of her bloodied lover.

Korra was became groggy from the pain and her eyes saw just a little of the details in Asami's figure.

"Is th-that y-you...Asami?" Korra's voice was slowly fading. She could hear the sobs of her lover. "Hey...come on...d-don't cry...th-this is a date right? I have a present for you."

Korra was in excruciating pain and her mental state made her think that this was a dream. She was able to move her arm a bit so she reached out to the canvas she brought with her.

Asami was still in shock and couldn't remove her arms from Korra.

"Here...I m-made this for you...I haven't f-finished it...you c-came too early..." Korra weakly smiled and handed Asami the canvas in her hand.

Asami took the cloth covered canvas and unraveled it. Her tears fell at the effort the young girl put into her work.

"Did y-you...like it?" Korra asked, closing her eyes

Asami shakily breathed "Y-yes. I...I l-loved it."

"Heh...I love...y-you..." Korra mumbled with her last breath.

Asami wrapped her arms tighter around the girl, crying harder.

"I love y-you too...Korra..."

There they were, in pain and in each other's arms. With all the fighting and blood spilling, the artist's canvas was completed. A little splat of blood along her painting of the woman in a red kimono.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Hello! I placed the author's not here so that I won't spoil any of you readers about the story :)_

 _Colors Used:_ _purple(royalty), brown(serious), green(jealousy)_

 _Prompts Used:_ _dialogue("I didn't know you were an artist"), object (easel), genre (tragedy)_

 _Word Count:_ _3,497 (so close!)_

 _This was written for the Pro-Bending Competition! Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed! ;)_


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